Act as if you were already happy and that will tend to make you happy.
Dale Carnegie
MEANING OF THIS QUOTE
Happiness is one of the most uplifting yet elusive emotions. It is probably the only feeling that is at the heart of everything we do, and yet there are very few moments when it actually comes to fruition. As silly as it might sound, it doesn’t really have to be that way, for all it takes for you to be happy is to force yourself to be. Doesn’t make sense? Well, sometimes the hardest thing to do is to convince your mind that you are actually happy. Almost miraculously, your mind takes care of everything else.
ISN’T SUCH HAPPINESS FAKE?
As discussed above, happiness is an evasive emotion. No matter how much you strive to be happy, such moments are invariably far and few between. Furthermore, most philosophers opine that happiness is a fleeting emotion. As such, regardless of whether it is real or forced, it isn’t going to last forever, anyway. So, isn’t it desirable for you to have the power to “manufacture” an emotion as rare, brief, and unpredictable as happiness? Instead of letting your mind be in the driver’s seat and dictate when you are happy and when you aren’t, it is better that you take control and become truly in charge of your happiness.
CONCLUSION
Life is a short, and one must make the most of every moment. There is no point wasting a single moment being unhappy or livid about things that are out of our control. No matter how miserable the circumstances, all it takes is a smile to remind yourself of the little blessings that make your life so much better than that of most people around you. It has less to do with “faking” happiness than wresting control of your emotions from your mind.
Dale Carnegie was an American author and public speaker. Known for his self-improvement courses worldwide, Carnegie once wrote: “Act as if you were already happy and that will tend to make you happy.”